Atlanta lemonade stand raises $13K for separated immigrant families

When an Atlanta mother told her two young children about families being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, her 6-year-old son suggested starting a lemonade stand to help.

Shannon Cofrin Gaggero set a goal of $1,000, an amount she considered ambitious. A week later, the online and in-person campaign has raised nearly 13 times that amount.

The family and other volunteers hosted the lemonade stand and bake sale in Virginia-Highland on Sunday. While that event netted $1,100, the majority of donations — more than 200 of them — have come from the paired virtual Facebook event.

Like the Willner’s fundraiser, the Gaggero’s proceeds will go to the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Service, or RAICES, a Texas nonprofit that offers free and low-cost legal services to immigrants.